Top 5 Beard Mistakes Guys Make When Growing a Beard (and how to avoid them)

Growing a beard certainly comes with a learning curve, and whether you've had a beard in the past or not, it's easy to make some grooming mistakes along the way.

In this video and blog, we've gathered the top 5 mistakes we see and give some advice on how you can avoid them.

Mistake 5. Giving Up Too Soon

If only we had a nickel for every time we heard someone say "oh I wish I could grow a beard", but they've never tried because they "don't think they can"...

You see, your beard may look a little on the thin side when you first start growing it out, but every great beard has patches or thin spots and as you let it grow in length the hairs will start to fill in any thin areas.

Many guys quit too early when all they need is a bit more time to let it fill in. Have some patience and let it grow! You don't know until you try.

Mistake 4. Not Brushing Your Beard

You wouldn't walk out the door without styling your hair unless you covered it up with a hat, right?

Well since the mask thing is behind us and you don't need to cover your face, you need to make sure to tame those beard hairs before you leave for the day.

This applies to beards of all lengths, short and long, so don't think you're getting out of this one.

We recommend a boars hair brush to really train the hairs to lay down flat and not puff out too much on the cheeks.

Not only will this process leave you looking more presentable, but the boars hair brush will bring circulation to your skin which can help stimulate dormant hair follicles to grow, shed dead skin, and help with overall better beard growth.

As your beard grows past a month or so, you'll benefit from keeping a beard comb close by as well to really get through the longer hairs and control your beard.

Mistake 3. Unrealistic Expectations

I don't need a map.....I definitely don't need an owners manual...and I can certainly grow a glorious beard overnight.

While some of these may be true...the overnight beard wish isn't going to happen.

Many of us get the idea of growing a beard and achieving Zeus like status in a month...

Well, that's just not how it works. Growing a beard takes patience, which is why so many guys respect a solid beard and aren't afraid to tell you so.

Your beard will grow roughly 1/2" per month, but even still you'll likely need to trim a few times to get the look you're after so it could take longer than what simple math will tell you.

Here is a picture of me at about 4 weeks growth. Still showing thin spots which will fill in over time!

So our advice is when you get a beard style you're going after, make sure to set your expectations straight right out of the gate.

Mistake 2. Not Using Beard Oil Early On

I learned this one again first hand after shaving my beard for the first time in nearly a decade (you can check that video out here , it's pretty entertaining).

Beard Oil is designed to mimic your natural sebum oil which your body produces to moisturize your face.

As you grow a beard, your body doesn't produce enough oil to keep your skin, and beard hairs moisturized. If left untreated, your skin will get extremely dry, irritated, and can flake all over the place.

This is one of the biggest reasons guys shave their beard, when the solution is as simple as a rubbing a little oil on daily.

We recommend Beard Oil to every guy out there whether you just put the razor down and has started his beard growth process, or your beard is down to your belt buckle.

Beard Oil is a foundation of a great beard and will allow your beard hairs to live in a healthy environment to grow in. Plus, our oil has vitamin E, Jojoba, Argan, and Grape-Seed oil which will help tremendously with beard growth as well.

Mistake 1. Trimming

It may not be a surprise to some of you that trimming is the number one mistake guys make when growing or grooming a beard.

Whether you're trimming it yourself at home, or trusting a barber, trimming mistakes happen all the time.

We often see guys not outlining their beard soon enough, and when they do, they do it wrong.

We recommend outlining your beard within the first couple of weeks of beard growth. This will tell the world you are intentionally growing a beard by defining its shape.

If you're looking for specific direction on where to put these lines, you can watch the full video here .

These lines are super important not only when you start growing, but also will dictate how full your beard grows in as it gets longer so make sure to get them right!

Once you set your lines, you can let it grow for a couple of months while just touching those lines up with your trimmer every week or so (more often if you want it super clean all the time!).

As you get closer to 3 months you'll want to start looking into fading your sideburns to give your face a slimmer appearance, and trim flyaways to keep your beard nice and shaped.

PS - If you're looking for a killer ceramic-blade beard trimmer, check out our MT-1 Beard Trimmer . It has everything you need to get the perfect at home beard trim.

Final Thoughts

We know this can be daunting so if you have any questions at all about beard trimming from home, or anything else listed (or not listed) here, don't hesitate to email us at support@livebearded.com as that's what we're here for!

Thanks for your support and as always,

Live Bearded, Brother!